One of your most daunting tasks as a successful real estate agent is to make sure that you work with buyers and lessees who you know will be loyal to you. And while exclusive listings are the norm when you represent owners of properties, they are still far from being the norm when representing buyers and lessees. And what is so unfortunate is that the way that our industry has evolved over the years has made it so easy for the prospective buyers and lessees that we run with to jump ship and do a deal through another agent instead of us at any moment in time. They simply have no downside except for maybe a little personal guilt.

Enter the lending industry. Their approach is short, sweet, simple, and it works.

Almost any time a buyer applies for a loan the buyer has to immediately cut a check for processing fees to the lending organization in order to begin the process of trying to secure a loan. This simple little procedure is one reason why buyers don't go shopping for a loan with many different lending organizations at the same time. Now of course a buyer can apply through a loan broker who will approach different lending institutions for the best loan for the buyer, but this one broker is normally the only person or company that the buyer has hired to secure a loan for them.

When people spend money because they want a specific result they normally don't go running around hiring other people to get the same job done. They simply don't want to spend anymore money to get the job done if they don't have to. You don't see people hiring a lawyer, paying the lawyer a retainer, and then turning around and doing the same thing with another lawyer for the exact same work to be performed.

This is one area where our industry can learn a lot from how our lenders do it. Imagine if when working with buyers and lessees you asked them for a retainer in order to get started with them. It could be $500.00, $1,000.00, $2,500.00, or even more depending on the size of the anticipated commission with them. And, with appropriate disclosure to all parties involved in the transaction in many cases, you could even offer to refund them their retainer out of the future commission that you will receive after you have successfully completed the transaction with them. (Please check with both your manager and the applicable real estate laws and regulations in your state on this one first.)

Now just like when someone pays a loan broker a processing fee or pays an attorney a retainer to get started, most prospective buyers and lessees will not want to jump ship and do a deal with another agent knowing that they'll lose the money they've already paid you. Heck, if another agent shows them a property that they like they'll probably then insist that the agent has to involve you in the deal! And what a pleasant surprise that would be.

When our prospects have not invested any money in working with us and have no legal obligation to continue working with us their loyalty can indeed vanish very quickly. It's time for us to take a stand in our industry and implement new approaches that ensure that our clients and prospects value our time and their relationships with us similarly to how they already do so with other quality professionals in other industries.

Published: October 17, 2002

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